Rule No. 1 of modern politics: Never, ever mess with the trackers—a rule that Pennsylvania state Sen. Scott Wagner just threw out the window. On Tuesday, Wagner, a wealthy trash magnate who is hoping for the GOP nod against Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf next year, interrupted his own speech at a country club luncheon to forcibly seize a video camera from a tracker employed by American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research group that specializes in exactly this sort of bird-dogging.
Of course, the incident was caught on camera, which stopped recording after Wagner confiscated it. Shortly thereafter, the tracker began recording on his cell phone and asked for his equipment back. In this second video, Wagner repeatedly insists the tracker is on "private property" and is then seen aggressively reaching for the tracker's phone, which abruptly goes blurry for a moment. At that point, the tracker says, "You're assaulting me, sir." Wagner barks back, "No, I didn't assault you." The tracker continues to seek his camera and holds up a bloody finger, apparently the result of Wagner's violence.
The tracker did ultimately get his equipment back after getting ejected from the club, though without his memory card. (Joke's on Wagner, though: The camera was also recording to its own built-in storage.) Police were called to the scene, but apparently no charges were filed. Wagner was completely unapologetic, saying afterward, "Let's go to court."
That … might not be the best approach. In 2010, Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina similarly assaulted a tracker (who'd been much more aggressive; the American Bridge guy was just standing quietly in the back of a large ballroom) and suffered badly when video of the incident went viral. Etheridge went on to lose to tea party flotsam Renee Ellmers by less than 1 point that November.
If your opponents have sent an intern armed with a video camera to follow your every public appearance, it's a compliment! It means they're taking you seriously. It also means you have to get used to this new reality, because beating up on a kid with a camera is never a good look.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2oZoM8H
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